Home
>
Success
>
Success from Failure

Success from Failure

Those of you who know me, know that I am always looking for ways to improve and grow as an individual. This past weekend, I attended a one-hour seminar that was put on by Dennis McCurdy of Sturbridge, MA. It was to give people a taste for his eight-week personal development program.

He talked about the usual goal setting, creating a vision, getting rid of our negative self-talk and overcoming our fears. I conduct those seminars myself, yet, I learned more than I expected.

Dennis took it one step further than I'd been in the past. He had us attempt to break a one-inch thick board with our bare hands. I wanted to experience as much as possible, so I volunteered to be the first to try. I mentally prepared myself, saw in my mind my hand going through the board, I raised my hand and brought it down hard. The board snapped as though it were a toothpick. I was amazed at how easy it was to do something I thought would be difficult.

Then, he took an arrow and told us how we could break it with our necks. He showed how to place the feather end against the wall and put the tip on the soft part of our throat. We were to lean into it until it snapped. He demonstrated and sure enough the arrow snapped.

When he asked for volunteers, I was NOT the first to raise my hand. This was raising the stakes. If I broke my hand, that was one thing, but if I pierced my throat with an arrow, that could be fatal.

I watched as another participant snapped the arrow in two. I thought, well I might as well try. I got up, set the arrow against the wall, strategically placed the tip against my throat and started to lean into it. I leaned with force and as the other members of the class were telling me it was beginning to bend, I felt a sensation that the arrow was going to crush my larynx.

I am a speaker and a trainer. Without my voice, I wouldn't be able to work. I immediately backed off from the arrow. The class as well as Dennis encouraged me to try again. They assured me that I had almost succeeded. So I tried again. As I leaned into the arrow, again the class gave me the feedback that they could see the arrow bending. I leaned harder and again I felt the sensation of crushing my larynx. I backed off. Although they encouraged me to try again, I couldn't bring myself to do so.

I sat down, convinced I had saved myself from losing my voice. As I processed the experience, I realized that I have experienced this sensation many times. I convince myself that something disastrous will happen if I go ahead and act on an idea I have. I come up with many good reasons why it won't work. Each one based on what I consider fact.

Just like the arrow experience, I feel we many times pull back from success because of the "concrete evidence" we manufacture in our minds.

I believe I learned as much from my failure to break the arrow, perhaps even more, than if I had been successful in my attempt.

The lesson here is, that we can learn more from our mistakes and failures than we can from our successes.

Thank you Dennis for giving me this life lesson.

Margo Chevers, Author of How to Get Up on a Down Day, What do you Want to be When You Grow Up?, and STOP the BS (bad service).

For top 10 attitude adjusters send an email to margo@margochevers.com

Visit blog at margo@margochevers.com

elite cleaning services Mundelein ..

In The News:

Major Marquis fintech breach exposes 400,000+ Americans' data through unpatched SonicWall vulnerability, with Texas hardest hit at 354,000 affected.

Free up iPhone storage fast by clearing large photos and videos from Messages app. Simple steps for iOS users to delete attachments without losing chats.

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.